GRADING FOR PROFIT 



adapted for parcel-post trade, in which they are ex- 

 tensively employed. These are sold at such a cheap rate 

 that it is scarcely worth while to make them at home, 

 still machines are now available that render the task an 

 easy and expeditious one. They can be had stamped 

 with the trader's name and address and an indication of 

 the nature of the contents. Much improvement has been 

 effected in these boxes of recent years ; the insides are 

 covered with a smooth, non-porous lining which aids 

 materially in preserving flavours in a fresh state after 

 they are packed. 



Thin metal boxes have also been advocated for similar 

 produce, but while they offer some advantages in the 

 preservation of flowers or fruits in transit they have 

 several objectionable features, notably the weight and the 

 liability to damage ; besides this, in proportion to their 

 size they are expensive. Such boxes with partitions to 

 enclose special fruits like peaches have not proved 

 satisfactory in general business, though they are some- 

 times used privately. A method adopted by some of the 

 Californian growers for the conveyance of plums to this 

 country consists in having small metal boxes which fit 

 into larger shallow wooden cases, and it appears to offer 

 some advantages, as the fruits are not in bulk, and the 

 effects of one or two damaged fruits are confined to a 

 small area. 



Barrels, though chiefly used by American and Canadian 

 fruit growers for apples, are not likely to be generally 

 employed in that way here. They are occasionally used 

 for roots such as Potatoes, Turnips, Carrots, and Horse- 

 radish, but only for inferior grades of the second and 

 third named, as the best are bunched. Tubs of smaller 

 size are employed for later gatherings of soft fruits that 

 will not pay for sorting, and which are conveyed direct 

 to jam-makers for conversion into pulp. This is often 

 only an excuse for disposing of a quantity of damaged 



